Buttered Popcorn: Buzzmans Movie Review Thread

[Buzzman]

*Note: Red Numbers add 2 points to a films score for being more enjoyable than they should have been.

2010 in Film
Movie Rankings
The Best Movies of the Year
The Worst Movies of the Year
The Underrated Movies of the Year

2011 in Film
Movie Rankings
The Worst Films of the Year
The Overrated Films of the Year
The Most Anticipated Movies of Q1
The Most Anticipated Movies of Q2
The Most Anticipated Movies of Q3
The Most Anticipated Movies of Q4

2012 in Film
Movie Rankings
The Most Anticipated Movies of Q1
The Most Anticipated Movies of Q2
The Most Anticipated Movies of Q3

Movie Reviews:

(500) Days of Summer (2009)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
A-Team, The (2010)
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (2009)
American, The (2010)
Book of Eli, The (2010)
Bounty Hunter, The (2010)
Brooklyn's Finest (2010)
Charlie St Cloud (2010)
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Cop Out (2010)
Crazies, The (2010)
Date Night (2010)
Daybreakers (2010)
Dear John (2010)
Defendor (2010)
Despicable Me (2010)
Easy A (2010)
Edge of Darkness (2010)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Escape From New York (1981)
Ex, The (2006)
Expendables, The (2010)
Final Destination, The (2009)
From Paris With Love (2010)
Frozen (2010)
Get Him to the Greek (2010)
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The (2010)
Green Zone (2010)
Grown Ups (2010)
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
In the Company of Men (1997)
Inception (2010)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Karate Kid, The (2010)
Kick-Ass (2010)
Killers (2010)
Last Exorcism, The (2010)
Last Song, The (2010)
Leaves of Grass (2010)
Letters to Juliet (2010)
Losers, The (2010)
MacGruber (2010)
Machete (2010)
Messenger, The (2009)
Ondine (2010)
Other Guys, The (2010)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
Piranha 3D (2010)
Predator/Predators (1987/2010)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
Remember Me (2010)
Repo Men (2010)
Robin Hood (2010)
Salt (2010)
Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010)
She's Out of My League (2010)
Shutter Island (2010)
Slither (2006)
Splice (2010)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Town, The (2010)
Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The (2010)
Up (2009)
When in Rome (2010)
Youth in Revolt (2010)

 

[Buzzman]

The Losers (2010)

Plot: After being betrayed and left for dead, members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination.

Story: The story is not much in the originality department. A group of people are betrayed, and they seek revenge, it’s done been quite a bit in various forms, but that’s not to say they can’t still be entertaining if done right. The Losers, for the most part, gets it right. It mixes in some nice action, with needed comedic relief. The one thing that really is a bugger is The Losers tend to do whatever they want with no consequences and unlimited supply of resources.

Characters: A movie like this has to have great characters with great chemistry. They seemed to cast the perfect guys( and gal) for the film. They played off each other and everything went in rhythm and came off as a smooth conversation. Jeffrey Morgan as Clay (the leader) fit the mold and his voice looked and felt the part, Zoe Saldana was a hot ass, but we didn’t get to see as much action out of her as I wanted, and Chris Evans (fresh off the Captain America announcement) was funny as hell in this movie from his one-liners to his hilarious t-shirt collection. The films villain was 50-50 on how you view him, he was so over the top in terms off his actions but his look was that off an average guy in a suit. He wasn’t very intimidating and you wonder how he became such a powerful icon.

Others: The explosions you got were well done except the very first one in the jungle looked awful. A little bit during and after the credits was probably the best scene off the movie. It had me rolling. The sorta plot twist seemed out of nowhere, but since this is based off a comic book series maybe it explains more of their past that shows why things played out this way in the movie. If you get the chance, I recommend you go to the theater to see this. You’ll enjoy it.

Overall Score: 7/10

 

[Buzzman]

Kick-Ass (2010)

Plot: Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.

Story: The first thirty minutes or so is essentially the origin story of Kick Ass. It wasn’t exactly boring, but it was pretty dull except for some brief entertaining scenes. Once Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are introduced, the story took a turn for the awesomeness. Things got violent with blood and bullets flying everywhere, people dying left and right. All started because a mob(?) boss wanted to teach people a lesson, “that being a superhero is an unhealthy life choice.” Well, he’ll learn that you just don’t fuck with Hit-Girl, cause she’ll break your ass. Also, there was some serious funny moments that were created with its style that were awesome (bazooka anyone?).

Characters: They may as well have called this movie Hit Girl because she dominates the movie. She was over the top amazing. Her moves throughout the movie were some of the most entertaining stuff I’ve seen in the theater. Big Daddy was sweet as hell too, but you can’t really go into why otherwise it’d be a big spoiler. The movie supposed star Kick Ass though was pretty good, but he just got over matched. I enjoyed his scenes when he wasn’t dressed up playing that gay kid in the friend zone. Red Mist was the one guy that I disliked, just wasn’t feeling his scenes. His dad however, might have been my favorite character after the last 20 minutes. Guy was flat out boss. Anyone who punches a little girl in the face 5 times is awesome in my book.

Others: I’ve heard from others that the music they used gave the wrong message in the movie, but their choices seemed to go with the flow, and the score used in the unmasking of Kick Ass was amazing, it got me leaning forward in my seat.

Kick Ass was definitely one of my most enjoyable times in the cinema and I’m definitely going to pick up the comics soon. While it didn’t do amazing at the box office, it’s still very profitable and expect a sequel where you can expect to see me waiting in line for.

Kick-Ass Out!!!

Overall Score: 9/10

 

[Buzzman]

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Plot: A re-imagining of the horror icon Freddy Krueger, a serial-killer who wields a glove with four blades embedded in the fingers and kills people in their dreams, resulting in their real death in reality.

Story: The thing that is tough with remakes is the audience essentially already knows what’s going to happen, so the one thing you shouldn’t do is shoot an almost shot for shot remake, which they decided to do for some damn reason. The things they decided to change actually worsened the film like the micro naps or the teenagers “pasts”. The one redeeming quality that had was whether Freddy Krueger could have been innocent of his crimes, but they quickly pass that by and move on with the story.

The other parts with these types of movies are the kills. In the past, there have been some pretty creative deaths, which is one of the main attractions horror films have for me. The first on screen kill was a bang, probably because it was the most graphic and clever, but then they decided to steal from the films original or come up with a generic glove through the chest. Lame.

Characters: The teenagers Freddy targets are all very boring and depressing. But maybe that’s because they never sleep and look like emo fuckheads. None are interesting but at least they had a hot ass blonde chick, but despite having an “R” rating they don’t use any nudity. Jackie boy though nicely plays the new Freddy. He looks the part and his deep raspy voice provides a slightly crazy tone to him. At least the got the most important character right.

Others: One thing nowadays that’s disappointing is the use of CGI in horror films. It is not even close to being scary as the real thing. Nowadays its usually the escape route to give them film a better look, but they just need to go back to the roots, which is ironic that they didn’t in a remake of an 80’s movie that spawned some terrible sequels.

Overall Score: 4/10

 

[Buzzman]

She’s Out of My League (2010)

Plot: An average Joe meets the perfect woman, but his lack of confidence and the influence of his friends and family begin to pick away at the relationship.

Story:This was a typical romantic comedy movie where boy meets girl, they fall in love, the boy messes up, then goes to realize he made a mistake, and then pulls off some unrealistic shenanigans to win back the girl. The thing that was different about this particular film is that its actually hilarious. There were so many moments I was running out of air like when he shaves his balls, tries to get off the plane at the end, and there first date. Not since The Hangover have a laughed so much.

Characters: Alice Eve might be the hottest unknown beauty in Hollywood. The scene where she’s in her lingerie and god damn she’s fine. Her character in the movie isn’t all that funny, she’s mainly their for those looks. Jay Baruchel’s character Kirk, has brings plenty of funny but at times comes off as a whiny little bitch. The friends in the movie are what really make this such an entertaining movie. All of them bring something different, but all end with you laughing. I really hope that TJ Miller, the man who plays Kirk’s best friend gets into more movies, dudes real funny.

Others: The guys who are going to overlook this movie because it’s a rom-com are going to miss out on one funny ass movie. It’s a shame too, unless your reading this of course, cause then that means your going to go watch it. The whole thing with the point score with hotness is a bit overused but it does serve its purpose in the film so its no biggie. Definitely watch this, it brings the funnies.

Overall Score: 6.5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

Plot: Four guy friends, all of them bored with their adult lives, travel back to their respective 80s heydays thanks to a time-bending hot tub.

Story: The movie was a real homage to the 80s. Even though I wasn’t around back then I know enough about it to catch most of its references. The good thing is the 80s can be made fun of easily. Before they go back in time, the story is boring but thankfully, they are in the 80s in no time. Once they get there, its just a blast seeing the things they do and see. Now the movie’s comedy might not be for everyone. It’s vulgar and relies on immaturity, but if you find that stuff funny then you’ll love this.

Characters: Out of the four guys Nick Webber(Craig Robinson) and Lou(Rob Corddry) bring the most laughs as the are caught up in some messed up situations. I wasn’t feeling the other two characters, they had moments but came up generally dull. The “villains” of the movie were so bad they were funny thinking the characters were Russian spies. It was quite amusing. The star of the movie and who might have the best cameo ever belongs to Crispon Glover and the tale of his arm. By far funniest thing I’ve seen in a long while.

Others:Anyone want to tell me why Chevy Chase was in this movie? He literally did nothing. What happened to him? Getting fat must have made him less funny. 2010 though has kinda started off with a bang in terms of comedies. It was only March when this and She’s Out of My League came out, and both were hilarious.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Plot: The mortal son of the god Zeus embarks on a perilous journey to stop the underworld and its minions from spreading their evil to Earth as well as the heavens.

Story:This is a remake of the 1981 version, which I have yet to see so I don’t know how much they actually take from the film apart from the characters. The plot is predictable right from the beginning. It’s one of those movies where you get the feeling that you know the ending already and how he’s going to get there, which takes the air out of the film. The journey they take has them come across some cool CGI monsters, but not enough to make the film any better. They are just there to further advance this “intense” plot. The huge climax at the end was a huge disappointment, and made you feel like you might have just wasted your time. Also, don’t blink, you may miss all the Gods 15 minutes of screen time.

Characters: Perseus(Sam Worthington) is the main character but comes off rather boring and unlikeable. Everything has to be his way and it gets annoying. His fellow journeyman are far more interesting as they actually have a sense of honor in what they are doing, giving them a direction to lead in. Medusa is one bad ass bitch, and with the help of CGI, made her a beast but it’s a shame she only was given one move even though she’s this giant looking snake. The God in the film are an afterthought, with them getting little screen time and only Zeus and Hades with significant lines. But both seemed to be zoned out most of the film with Zeus shouting and Hades whispering. Why even have them here if your not going to use them?

Others:This movie was converted to 3D which I gladly passed on opting for the true 2D experience, and from what I heard the 3D was awful. The CGI was the real moneymaker for the film, using it every chance they got. For the most part, it was effective but you can’t tell me you went through all that trouble making the Krakken, just to kill it off that way. What a stupid ass kill. Also what was with the townspeople and there crazy ass plan, how dumb they must be.

Overall Score: 5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Plot: Billionaire Tony Stark must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends, as well as new enemies due to his superhero alter ego Iron Man.

Story: Its been 6 months since Tony Stark has publicly announced he was Iron Man, and with that comes the repercussions and even more fame then he his ego can handle. They do a good job at showing the effects to some content of what the Iron Man suit represents. The military is wanting to use it as a weapon while Tony believes only he can handle its power because he is keeping it a secret that the suit is actually killing him. Like I said it does a great job of showing the consequences of the first film. His relationship with Lt. Rhodes has increased friction and the way they bring War machine into the mix felt forced. How easy a friend can betray him was shown with little to no development, it just happened. Much like everything after the first thirty minutes, things just happened that didn’t surprise you. You knew exactly where the film was headed and how they were going to get there. Just disappointing they went this route.

Characters: Tony Stark was great, but that was expected. Downey plays a very cocky but passionate Superhero who has flaws but who is never looking out for number one. They hinted at his alcoholism, which was one of the better scenes of the movie and actually got War Machine introduced. Don Cheadle just doesn’t fit the part, but he actually spends most of his screen time in the suit so its not a problem. Justin hammer played a good over the top competitor who always comes in second to Tony Stark and wants to end that with the help of a Russian scientist. Mickey Rourke was interesting but they just never really established him. He rarely spoke, and wasn’t given enough background. Then his battles were very short, despite him being the coolest cat in the film outside of Iron Man himself.

Side note: Johansson character was there for show and her fight scenes were laughable, with her staring into the camera after every punch.

Others: The fight scenes sucked. Hell the one good fight scene was actually between War Machine and Iron Man at Tonys birthday party. That’s the one thing the series so far hasn’t gotten right were the fight scenes. They are just way to short and lackluster. The gadgets Tony uses are pretty cool. (Wonder if we actually have any of it in real life). The cameos in the film of Captain America and Thor are underwhelming, but once really thing is you can see The Incredible Hulk aftermath of the university in the background of a few scenes. The Avengers film seemed to limit this one with what they could do because they don’t exactly know where Iron man is headed. Let’s hope they get it back together for the 3rd one.

Overall Score: 5.5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Date Night (2010)

Plot: In New York City, a case of mistaken identity turns a bored married couple's attempt at a glamorous and romantic evening into something more thrilling and dangerous.

Story: It’s pretty over the top with most of it coming off as unnatural, which kind of ruins most of the film. Most scenes that should be hilarious are stale and dry with nothing really happening. The plot just never got going and then when we get near the end , you kinda feel cheated of your time. That’s not saying it isn’t completely stupid, because there are some laugh out loud moments involving some cameos and a taxi driver that had me rolling. The best though have to be when our couple provides the voices for other couples around them. They were pretty good.

Characters: Our two elads are considered the two funniest people on television right now, so you’d expect them to be funny here, but only Tina Fey’s character provide any juice. Her one liners and her awkward movements provided good humor, but Carroll just was dead in his roll and just read what was given him. The funniest moment has to go to James Franco and Mila Kunis and his chest pound of home. Great cameo for them. Did anyone tell mark Whalberg this was a comedy because he seemed intent on taking it serious.

Others: For a movie that stars Carroll and Fey, it was truly disappointing. I found myself wanting the movie to end at times with the occasional laugh pulling me back in. Carroll in particular has had a shitty movie career thus far. I wonder if he can carry a film. But coming from the director of Night at the Museum 1 and 2 you shouldn’t have expected anything other then an average comedy.

Overall Score: 5/10

 

[Buzzman]

The Crazies (2010)

*I have not seen the original*

Plot: About the inhabitants of a small Iowa town suddenly plagued by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply.

Story: Every year it seems like they come out with this type of movie and every year it usually sucks. This time around, they actually did a decent job focusing more on the characters struggle to survive rather then the infected killing people. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any kills because there are and are pretty creative (and gruesome). The one cliché they followed, that was a bit disappointing was the virus coming from toxic waste in the water. I mean cmon and think of another way. It seems to happen that way in all these movies.

Characters: Our sheriff feels real and immediately rubs off as a guy you want to get through this. His wife on the other hand, seems to hold him back but technically saved his life without him knowing it. The real star was the sheriff’s deputy, Russell. The man who is infected but tried to fight it. As with most movies, this one does come with two of the dumbest characters. You would think trying to survive would be there #1 priority, but apparently, they got better things on their minds.

Others: Two things. You have to give the movie some balls for giving you a great ending. It was a big FUCK YOU to the watchers, but it was brilliant. The other has go to be the almost ending in which you wonder how the fuck they survived (refer to spoiler). Overall, The Crazies was a very enjoyable movie was a pleasant surprise.

 

I’m sorry a truck cant outdrive a nuke.

Overall Score: 7/10

 

[Buzzman]

Robin Hood (2010)

Plot: The story of an archer in the army of Richard Coeur de Lion who fights against the Norman invaders and becomes the legendary hero known as Robin Hood.

Story: For a movie that has been done to death, I found my self pleasantly surprised numerous times throughout the movie. There were never any big twists, just little ones that changed your perspective on Robin of the Hood. The story takes place before he was a wanted man and just an archer in King Richards army, but after Richard dies, he decides to finally to part ways with his current life and follows a new path to try and redeem his sins. It does quite well in following actual history and religious aspects correctly, which you will catch if you happen to know about your history (which I do). The films ending is a good one and will leave you satisfied but wanting more.

Characters: Crowe provides a great Robin, pulling off a refreshing new look and attitude. We get to see Robin before his famous goodwill, which shows a broken man trying to fix himself. Lady Marion for the 1st time is actually useful and not just a puppet on display, she stands her ground and holds her own. Once again Mark Strong plays the villain Godfrey nicely and comes to a brutal ending. I was caught off guard with King John, his character was amusing and played really good, he was actually the comedic relief the film needed.

Others: The whole feel and tone of Ripley Scott’s Robin Hood were far more different then any other attempt at the character and it was exactly what it needed. His on set pieces were great and its battles were epic in scale. The one thing I cant wait for is to get my hands on the unrated version which will be 20 minutes longer and have more blood, which happened to be missing from these battles. Based on the ending there will be a sequel, but unless they really change the story around, that part of the tale has been told a thousand times, so I really hope they leave this as is if they do intend to move in that direction.

Overall Score: 8/10

 

[Buzzman]

The Last Song (2010)

Plot: A drama centered on a rebellious girl who is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect.

Story: The one thing you can always expect from a Nicholas Sparks novel is love at first site. Only one time was it believable, and this wasn’t it. It’s hard to watch because you already know how the movie is going to play out and the supposed big revealing near the end was seen miles away. The movie has a hard time straying from the clichés.

Characters: Miley’s character is one that is very hard to like. Despite being given a scholarship to play the piano and comes from a rich family, she still finds time to pout over everything just because her parents got divorced. From experience, she needs to get the fuck over it. Her boyfriend, Will stands around and talks in a monotonous tone. He just came off as boring despite everything he does. Got to hand out the award to the little brother, was actually the only well played performance because he wasn’t annoying like little kids tend to be.

Others: The soundtrack is nice. I actually like some of her music, but the movie was just so plain. Sometimes you have to take risks, because even though you might fail, at least its something. This will go down as just one of those forgotten movies months from now. (Ironically its is 2 months from release and is forgotten lol) CHICK FLICK BEWARE!!

Overall Score: 4/10

 

[Buzzman]

MacGruber (2010)

Plot: Ex-special operative MacGruber is called back into action to take down his archenemy, Dieter Von Cunth, who's in possession of a nuclear warhead and bent on destroying Washington, D.C.

Story: The only way they were going to make this work was with an R rating, and not only did they use it, but they used a hard R. Expect violence, vulgar language and one liners popping up early and often. Most of it is hilarious. Now the actual storyline is kind of terrible but the constant jokes spewing from MacGruber’s mouth more then makes up for it. Some parts slowed down the movie a bit, but it kept a good pace of constant laughs and was an incredibly good time.

Characters: The movie’s title character is a moron, but being a moron he is brings the funnies. He throws out some incredible one liners and thinks some of the dumbest things that make you run out of breathe. Not to mention his dumbass smirk he gives after everything he does. His right hand man, Piper, is the serious man who’s comments to MacGruber were surprisingly well played. Kristin Wiggs Vikki St Elmos wasn’t as funny as I hoped. Her scenes near the beginning were the ones that slowed the film down. The villain as one of the greatest names of all time, Dieter Von Cunth.

Others: This is definitely the better SNL movies made. It reminds me of Hot Rod from a few years ago. MacGruber though is still much funnier then Hot Rod, both released to shit numbers then were quickly forgotten. MacGruber, though, is funny as hell, and guys should love it. Its crazy how they made this movie based on a four minute SNL skit where he stands around and does nothing then defuses a bomb with one second left.

Last Note: MacGruber has the best sex scene since Team America.

Overall Score: 8/10

 

[Buzzman]

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

Plot: A teenager discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods.

Story: When your movie is based on a book series, its very hard to screw up the story since the material is right there for you. All you have to do is take out the unnecessary sections to fit it into a nice two-hour movie. Unfortunately, everything of importance was left in the pages while they put together a two-hour flop fest that jumped around more then a pogo stick. You wont understand the importance of any character outside of the trio that you follow, or why the trio is such a big deal, instead you’ll watch a teen drama that is every bit ordinary. Hell this is supposed to be a 5 book series but when the credits roll you’d thought it was a single film. To put it into perspective, the entire series is based on a prophecy about Percy Jackson that unravels everything but they don’t even mention it in the film.

Characters: All three of our characters feel stale. None bring anything to there roles. They decided to read off a script and just see how it went. Bear in mind though they are only 16, but the director is at fault as well for not bringing out the most of them. The character of Grover was turned into your typical stereotype black teenager, despite in the book being a quiet, insecure little Satyr (half man-goat). That pretty much sums how the characters were presented. This was a step back for everyone involved.

Others: I understand the book was aimed at young teenagers but they were still pretty entertaining for anyone that read them, but they took a very won’t turn when they decided to aim it for young adults because the story was just way to cheesy. The book left much to the imagination, but when they actually produce it on screen you realize how silly it looks. A half man goat is not something you want to watch for two hours. Not to mention the use of CGI in this movie was downright terrible. It just puzzles me how District 9 with half the budget looks 10x better then this.

Overall Score: 3.5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Shutter Island (2010)

Plot: Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Story: Martin Scorsese takes a shot at a psychological thriller genre. His greatest strengths are his musical score and camera work itself. The music sets the tone for the movie with all sorts of instruments playing at various spots, giving it a serious horror vibe. Its horror isn’t pop outs, but more being ignorant on what’s coming ahead. It’s what drives the movie. The camera work is beautiful with a near perfect product. It gives the film a gritty toughness feel, which helps the audience connect itself to the main character and root for him. But in the end, you have to answer yourself whether he won or not.

Characters: Leo drives the movie. He really gets inside his character, Teddy, and gains your attention effortlessly. His character is a good guy, but you see glimpses of his former life in the war, and wonder if the war, the death of his wife in a fire, and now being trapped on this island is finally enough to overtake him. Your with his struggle every step of the way, and he takes a pretty entertaining journey. The other standout was just a brief appearance by Jackie Earle Haley as a inmate that answers the questions Teddy feared most.

Others: This was based on a book, which I’ve never read so I cant have a comparison but from what I’ve researched, the ending in the book was not as good as the films, which gives the audience more participation of the interpretation. It’s a great way to end a film and Leo and Scorsese once again hit gold with this one. Lets help the continue to make more.

Overall Score: 8.5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Daybreakers (2010)

Plot: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Story: I don’t know how they turned out this way, but vampires nowadays are thought to be nice and charming with one always falling for a human. Daybreakers gives a good attempt to try and bring the old genre back. These vampires thrive with blood and wont think twice about killing a human. The twist the films gives though is that vampires now make up most of the population. It makes for some good stories to develop such as trying to find a blood replacement because the humans are becoming extinct. Watching the way the vampires react to the shortage is well done, and the world they created is wonderful. The films ending is a very creative one that provided plenty of blood and very satisfying.

Characters: Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is our protagonist that is given the task of finding the blood replacement, but what makes him an interesting character is the fact that he doesn’t drink blood and doesn’t find being a vampire as a gift. His drive away from this life is the story’s driving point. His brother is the standard soldier who hunts human, but feels guilty over turning his brother into a vampire without consent. The friction between them provides a nice little story between them that is disappointingly ended abruptly. There’s your standard group of resistance fighters, but other then William Dafoe’s “special circumstances”, none really bring anything of value to the film.

Others: There was pretty good CGI for such a cheap film with the vampires that went without blood for awhile. They were scary because of the camera and sound work provided some excellent sequences. Most of the film takes place at night, so they seemed to go with a Noire type of look that looked awesome. Last thing, the film showed newspapers and news clips of current events that added another dimension to it, but unfortunately they didn’t do it enough to be effective. Daybreakers definitely brings the old vampire tales back into the light.

Overall Score: 7.5/10

 

[Buzzman]

Dear John (2010)

Plot: A romantic drama about a soldier who falls for a conservative college student while he's home on leave.

Story: The one thing I hate in movies is love at first site. Its almost totally unrealistic. It also doesn’t help when one side of the relationship shows no emotions. You watch this film and wonder how they fell madly in love in the mere two weeks they were together. From there, the letters start with the lovely lady narrating her letters to scenes of him fighting in battle. Its very cliché; Then about two-thirds into the movie, the most out of no where event occurs and turns an average movie into complete crap. The only thing keeping this movie going is the father. His scenes were the only meaningful and believable ones.

Characters: Our lady, Savannah, is good. She just seems to come natural at this type of film, probably because she has a big smile with pretty eyes. John on the other hand is a walking dead man. Channing Tatum keeps getting roles by playing the same character over and over; Its absolute craziness. As I said the father is the best part of the film, he plays an autistic man, but you feel his struggles and was a great performance by Richard Jenkins, who seems to give everything to all his roles.

Others: The whole coin metaphor was a load of crap and came off as cheesy instead of dramatic. The choices our characters make appear as if they have no common sense and actually make the audience mad. Its yet another miserable movie based off a Nicholas Sparks novel. Boy the woman must love his crap because he just keeps pumping them out. He’s my Tyler Perry, other then The Notebook, everything he’s done just isn’t very good.

Overall Score: 4/10

 

[Buzzman]

In the Company of Men (1997)

Plot: Two business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.

Story: For such a simple concept, the film is incredibly entertaining. It is one of the best black comedies I’ve ever seen. The whole movie is just a big documentary set in the 90s on how young executives climbed there way up to corporate ladder; they ran and ate anyone in there way. The woman they screw with is just a metaphor on the prize they seek, but they do throw in the little twist of having her be deaf (for entertainment purposes). By the end, after everything they have done, you get to see a much clearer picture on who these guys really are, and you won’t know whether to laugh or sit in disgust at them.

Characters: The two best friends, Chad and Howard, are so great because they are exact opposites. Chad is cocky and has a big ego, while Howard is lonely and a follower. They both play of each other well and make for some very entertaining scenes. Aaron Eckhart is in his best role playing the biggest dick possible, Chad. This is the movie that put him on the map and it was well deserved. He might be the only actor that could make a movie of just him talking to the screen and I would love it. His screen presence is incredible. Chad will go down as one of the best characters ever created in a movie.

Others: Released in 1997, I’ve never actually met someone who has watched this, so it falls under my category of most underrated movies of all time. I hope that this review gets at least one person to watch it because the film is a fine piece of work and deserves much more then it got.

Overall Score: 9/10

 

[Buzzman]

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Plot: Based on the video game, which follows an adventurous prince who teams up with a rival princess to stop an angry ruler from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy the world.

Story: I’ve never played the Prince of Persia games so I have no clue how close the movie follows the plot or if it has the best moments and characters but what I do know is the movie isn’t bad it’s just boring. The action scenes are all slow motion, which was cool 10 years ago, but now isn’t what it used to be. Despite the dagger being the main plot point, it killed any suspense because it could turn back time. Anything bad happens to our prince and you know the dagger will just be used. The ending was a confusing mess. Maybe if I actually understood what and how the world could have ended I would have enjoyed it.

Characters: Jake looks the part of the Prince and plays a good hero, but his lines are terrible and his chemistry with Princess Tamina is no where to be seen. Any romance set between is instantly killed off; Gemma Arterton is becoming Hollywood’s next big eye candy. Also, when you want to try and have a surprise villain don’t heavily advertise him and have Ben Kingsley play the role because we all didn’t see that one coming.

Others: I have to wonder why they had a 200 million dollar budget. It seems like they could have done the same movie but half the price. This might be the best video game adaption yet, but with that budget, it could end up being one of the biggest failures as well. Hopefully its not the latter and it spawns off more serious attempts at the video game adaption genre.

Overall Score: 6/10

 

[Buzzman]

Letters to Juliet (2010)

Plot: An American girl on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" -- one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by a the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter.

Story: This film is broken into two stories within the same journey for love. The lost love featuring two elderly people feels genuinely real, with the audience wanting the old woman to find the man she ran away from 50 years ago. Her constant appearance at the doorsteps of the wrong men hurt her, but because of the trailers, it takes out and suspense on if she’ll find him. The other story is how two people who dislike each other when they first meet, start to enjoy each other along the journey and before you know it, five days later and there in love. It kills me when that happens because its so unrealistic, then the actual ending had a cheese factor of 11/10 to connect some of “stories” we heard near the beginning of the film like its supposed to be clever or something.

Characters: Claire is a very charming old woman who you root for the whole movie. For her age, which has to be over 60, she is very pretty. Her grandson on the other hand is a dick but is realistic about the journey. He seems to be one of the better men in a romantic comedy until the cheesy antics he does at the end. Sophie was terrible but it was more of the way it was written then the actress herself. They force down your throats that she’s not happy with her fiancé and as a good excuse to have the ending they did. You have to wonder how she was ever engaged in the first play since both her and her fiancé have so little in common. Both of them were just so unlikeable.

Others: It should have just stuck with the older storyline and had the girl Sophie not engaged and it would have been a little better, but the ending is just an absolute cliché POS. It turned an average movie too a poor one. Have an excuse to pass on this one when it gets brought up by your girl, its not an enjoyable experience.

Overall Score: 4.5/10